A chunky, medium-sized barbet with a yellowish belly; a red face is raggedly edged with a bold black cowl and breast band. In some forms the face is instead white or yellow. Pairs are resident in the canopy and mid-strata of a variety of open and closed woodlands, riverine forest, and cultivated areas, where they glean fruit and insects. Pairs sing a colorful and characteristic duet, “two-pudley, two-pudley, two-pudley”, that can go on for a minute or more. The similar Brown-breasted Barbet differs by having a broad brown breast band and a pale bill. Red-faced Barbet has black underparts.